Last week bore witness to another handful of losses for the Lake County Captains as they dropped four of six games at home. The bullpen continues to be problematic for the team and the offense, though productive, continues to lack timing when it comes to big hits. The starting rotation wasn't as dominant as seen in the past, but the team will look to rejuvenate itself as it begins a new roadtrip.

Smooth Sailing

Morel has been in an add position all season as he’s filled in for spot starts sporadically. Other times, he piggybacks other starts in relief. It’s tough to remain consistent when one is constantly switching roles, but Morel provided four solid, scoreless innings during his start on Sunday.

Sever continues to be the team’s most potent offensive component. He’s a versatile hitter and can drive the ball, which is represented in the two home runs he smacked this week. Sever has already seen time in high-A Carolina, where he hit .316. His average has hit the .300 mark with the Captains, which leads the current roster.

At first glance, the numbers aren’t striking or overwhelming, but Medina had a great week. He’s stepped in and filled the second base position well and has managed to craft the second-highest average on the team, just behind Sever. Medina also hit the first home run of his professional career on Thursday, a solo shot deep to left-center. The names Lindor, Paulino, Rodriguez and Ramirez may overshadow Medina in terms of prospects, but Medina has certainly started to establish a name for himself this year.

Walking the Plank

Wagoner’s woes continued last week as he’s become the deciding factor in close games – but not in a good way. Wagoner blew the tie in extra innings on Wednesday, and gave up four runs to blow the tie in the sixth inning on Monday. That adds to a total of 11 earned runs Wagoner has allowed during his last six appearances, or 4.2 innings of work.

Though he didn’t get smacked around this week, Baker struggled with locating pitches. He seemed to struggle against the extreme heat on Wednesday, where he issued five walks and made it through just three innings. Monday wasn’t much better as he walked six batters in five innings, and the hits he did allow were poorly timed.

Stokes has only been with the team for a small handful of games, but so far, he’s struggled. He’s dealt with command issues that weren’t present back when he was in Mahoning Valley, so perhaps he just needs more time to get comfortable in low-A.

Taking On Water

No Captains were added to the disabled list this week.

Leaving Port

Reliever Cody Penny was promoted to high-A Carolina earlier this week. Penny was 0-1 with a 3.15 ERA through 20 innings of relief work with the Captains.

Boarding Ship

No new players joined the team this week.

On the Horizon

The Captains are on the road for the remainder of the month. They’ll start in South Bend before heading to Midland to face the Great Lakes Loons. They’ll complete their road trip in Fort Wayne before returning home on August 1 for a six-game set.

Stephanie is a crime and general assignment reporter for The Morning Journal in Lorain, Ohio. She’s an alumna of Cleveland State University with a degree in Journalism and Promotional Communication. You can follow her on Twitter @7thInningSteph.

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